At a joint meeting Thursday night between City of Manhattan and Pottawatomie County officials, Stantec Consulting Group presented its plans to formulate the East Manhattan Gateway Plan.
The meeting served as an unofficial kickoff to the study that will mostly look at future land use in the growing Green Valley area.
Specifically discussed was the Highway 24 corridor and the McCall Triangle, both located in Pottawatomie County. Stantec Senior Urban Planner Jay Demma says that the plan should take approximately a year and a half to formulate. He explains what the plan aims to produce.
Manhattan City Commissioner Wynn Butler says one of the big concerns involved is water and sewer issues. There are also a number of challenges with drainage.
The City of Manhattan has long pointed to the area as an area of future opportunity for growth. In April 2022, Scorpius announced it would construct a future biotechnology manufacturing plant at the corner of Highway 24 and Excel Road. To date, no ground has broken on the project.
City Manager Ron Fehr has said they’re awaiting word from company leadership on when they plan to put forth some sort of development agreement. He remains optimistic the project will move forward, despite the likelihood it would be scaled in size from what initially was announced, favoring a campus style approach for its facility.
Also presented at the joint meeting was Community Health Educator for the Wildcat Region of Riley, Pottawatomie and Geary Counties, Jenni Ebert who discussed her recent visits to area schools regarding the Fentanyl crisis.
